The Writer's Way

Note: Each chapter in Parts I-IV concludes with Exercises. Prologue: How to Succeed in School. How to Get a Good Grade. How to (Re)Learn in School: A Guide to Studying. Part I: INTRODUCTION TO WRITING. 1. Learning to Write Learn Like a Child. The Four Basics. The Purpose of a Composition Class. How Can I Write Well Right Now? Writer's Workshop: What Helps, What Doesn't. 2. What Makes Writing Effective? What Good Writing Isn't. What Good Writing Is: The Sense of Audience. It Really Works: Two Proofs. Writer's Workshop: The Reader's Dialogue. Part II: PLANNING AND DRAFTING. 3. Finding Something to Write About. Where Do Good Essays Come From? Five Principles for Getting Good Ideas. Writing from Rage. Writer's Workshop: Finding Essays in Your Life. 4. From First Thoughts to Drafts. Writer's Block: Myth or Reality? Defeating Writer's Block. Part III: REVISING AND EDITING. 5. Thesis, Purpose, Audience, Tone, and Style. The Spirit of Revising. How to Feel About Rules. Revision Tools. Revision in Four Steps. Thesis, Purpose, Audience, Tone, and Style. Purpose and Audience Tell You How to Write. Writer's Workshop: Revising for Thesis, Audience, Purpose, Tone, and Style. 6. Organization: Mapping, Outlining, and Abstracting. The Organizing Attitude. Mapping. Outlining. Abstracting. Writing Abstracts. Structural Templates. Paragraphing. 7. Making the Draft Longer or Shorter. Making It Shorter. Seeing the Mode. Making It Longer. Writer's Workshop: Expanding Essays 8. Beginning, Ending, and Titling. Beginnings. Conclusions. Titles. 9. Peer Feedback. Rules for Readers. Rules for Writers. Peer Editing in Groups. Peer Editing for Mechanics and Grammar. A Final Piece of Advice. Writer's Workshop: Peer Editing a Peer-Editing Session. 10. Editing. Getting the Editing Attitude. "Grammar". Punctuation. Spelling. The Worst That Can Happen to You. Following Format. Proofreading. Part IV: MODES OF WRITING. 11. Personal Writing. What's Personal Writing? Show, Don't Tell. Choosing an Effect. Does Personal Writing Have a Thesis? Seeing the Mode. Writer's Workshop: Concretizing Abstract Generalizations. 12. Writing to Inform. What's Informative Writing? The Three Challenges. Eight Teaching Tips. Seeing the Mode. Writer's Workshop: Informative Strategies-Action Exercises. 13. Writing an Argument, Part 1: Thinking It Through. What's an Argument? Finding an Argumentative Prompt. Thinking It Through versus Selling the Case. Why Thinking Is Hard. How to Think: A Template. Seeing the Mode. Writer's Workshop: Using the Tools. 14. Writing an Argument, Part 2: Selling the Case. Define Your Objectives Realistically. Identify Your Audience as Specifically as Possible. Establish a Positive Relationship with Your Audience. Find a Dramatic Structure. Seeing the Mode. Writer's Workshop: Using Models. Part V: ACADEMIC WRITING. 15. Writing in School: An Introduction. Not as Different as You Might Think. A Brief Review. How to Read Writing Assignments. 16. Research. Using the Library. Researching from a Terminal. Evaluating the Credibility of Your Sources. 17. Using Sources. Summary and Paraphrase. Quotation. Documentation. Model Citations. 18. The Academic Research Paper. Setting Out. Getting Things Organized. Format. Graphics. Two Model Research Papers. Part VI: A COLLECTION OF GOOD WRITING. Personal Essays. Informative Essays. Argumentative Essays. Academic Essays. Five Essays on Food.